1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparel for the lower body, more particularly, a pair of shorts or pants having an opening in the crotch area covered by a completely removable or partially removable pocketed flap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Athletes of all sports, such as runners, skiers, skaters, walkers, bicyclers, or swimmers, have little time to waste when in the heat of competition. Winning or losing depends on time and performance. Athletes, however, cannot avoid taking time out of racing to perform normal bodily functions, such as urination or defecation. The time needed to perform these bodily functions can be unnecessarily prolonged due to the nature of the sport. For example, in the course of competition athletes may not be able to find a discrete area in which to carry out bodily functions. The delay may be further prolonged due to the nature of the apparel usually worn by participants in the sport.
For example, runners and joggers often wear active wear running togs made from spandex or other elastic fabric. During marathon runs or long workouts on park trails, nature sometimes calls, and the active wear can be difficult or uncomfortable to pull down and pull up over the hips, since the clothing is often damp and heavy with perspiration. Typically the athlete desires a quick way of opening the clothing just enough to eliminate bodily waste, so that they can resume their run as quickly as possible. Though performing normal bodily functions cannot be avoided, modifying the apparel worn by the athlete can drastically reduce the time needed to perform these functions. A number of garments have been proposed to allow the wearer to perform bodily functions without having to disrobe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,838, issued to Carter-Scott-Pomije on Aug. 3, 1999, describes pull-on pants or shorts having a flapped opening for the female anatomy. A pocket is provided on the leg panel to hold small items, such as tissue paper. U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,515, issued to Cohen on Aug. 30, 1994, describes a medical examination garment possessing an opening between the legs extending from front to back. A rear flap attached to the rear of the garment and a front flap attached to the front of the garment covers the crotch opening. The flaps either individually or simultaneously are lifted from the garment to expose the genital area.
Sportswear having flapped openings at the crotch are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,556, issued to Isley on Feb. 13, 1962 (men's tights with front flap over pubic region); U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,186, issued to Dailly on Oct. 8, 2002 (male-specific cyclist sportswear with front opening having an external flap and an internal flap over the pubic region to facilitate urination); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,926, issued to Mantos on Jul. 30, 1996 (sport trouser having a padded triangular fly-flap removably secured over the pubic region).
Still other patents showing outerwear designed with an exposable crotch area include U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,234, issued to Leibman on Oct. 9, 1990 (outergarment with detachable multilayered crotch piece having a disposable inner liner and a washable outer portion); U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,761, issued to Wright on Aug. 12, 1986 (woman's outergarment with front flap extending from waistline to crotch region); U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,522, issued to Schreib on Feb. 27, 2001 (pants with removable crotch flap to facilitate urination by females); U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,793, issued to Tokura et al. on Oct. 20, 1998 (clothing with an envelope-like flap covering a crotch opening); U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,595, issued to Stradley on Apr. 30, 1991 (woman's trousers having a releasable seam at the crotch and seat portion); U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,828, issued to Smith, Sr. et al on Apr. 1, 1986 (woman's pants with padded fly for covering a crotch-opening extending from the rear of the garment to the front of the garment); U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,063, issued to Brown on Feb. 4, 1969 (outergarment having a zippered crotch area attached to an undergarment); U.S. Pat. No. 2,389,273, issued to Novak on Nov. 20, 1945 (slacks with drop seat); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,711, issued to Freeman et al. on Nov. 12, 2002 (unitary garment with buttock flap).
Undergarments with completely removable crotch pieces are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,396,599, issued to O'Brien on Mar. 12, 1946 (undergarment with detachable crotch portion); U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,990, issued to Davis on Oct. 8, 1935 (girdle with detachable crotch portion); U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,230, issued to LaFleur on Jul. 28, 1981 (disposable training pants with cut-away crotch portion); U.S. Pat. No. 1,083,712, issued to Uyveda on Jan. 6, 1914 (undergarment having detachable sanitary piece); Japanese Patent Number 2002-186,642 published on Dec. 24, 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,854, issued on Dec. 24, 1991 both to Davis (disposable undergarment with tear-away crotch portion); and U.S. Pat. No. 2,477,593, issued to Gershenow on Aug. 2, 1949 (panty girdle with detachable and replaceable crotch portion).
Undergarments with a partially removable crotch flap covering a crotch opening include U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,119, issued to Robles on Jul. 2, 2002 (undergarment with a forward flap); U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,321, issued to Mortensen et al. on Aug. 28, 1990 (undergarment with rear and front panels to cover crotch region); U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,836, issued to Carlson on Aug. 17, 1976 (girdle with panel affixed to rear of garment); U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,469, issued to Schustack on Oct. 18, 1966 (foundation garment with crotch panel secured to rear of garment); U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,078, issued to Southwell on Jan. 20, 1987 (undergarment with waterproof flap secured to rear of garment); U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,633, issued to McKee on Jul. 28, 1959 (garment with crotch piece secured to back of garment); and U.S. Pat. No. 602,188, issued to Sittig on (trunk with a flap covering a crotch opening).
Pantyhose having an easily accessible crotch area are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,699, issued to Cosmah on Dec. 4, 2001 (pantyhose with forward opening crotch flap fixedly secured to the front of pantyhose); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,304, issued to McCants-Reed on Feb. 28, 1989 (men's pantyhose having front flap to expose front of torso and rear flap to expose rear of torso).
Undergarments with pockets are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,823, issued to Ortmeier on Feb. 1, 2000; U.S. Design Pat. No. 396,542, issued to Nicholson on Aug. 4, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,935, issued to Countee, Jr. on Mar. 10, 1992; U.S. Design Pat. No. 339,219, issued to Beauchemin on Sep. 14, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,430, issued to Lerma-Solis on Dec. 22, 1992; U.S. Design Pat. No. 341,470, issued to Quick on Nov. 23, 1993; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,178, issued to Katchka on Nov. 26, 1991.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a unisex active wear garment with modified fly-flap and storage pockets solving the aforementioned problems is desired.